Crazy Horse Malt Liquor

One of the companies that has attracted the most negative attention for the use of Native American images in their branding is Crazy Horse Malt Liquor. As alcoholism is often associated with Native American culture, the use of the image of an American Indian in full headdress on the label of a hard alcohol product was seen as particularly offensive to many Native American groups. This association was seen as especially troublesome because Crazy Horse was an actual Native American chief - one that is greatly revered by his people. The uproar did produce a change in the imagery on the label so that Crazy Horse was replaced by an actual horse. However, the name and association remains.

Cars!

There seems to have been a bit of an obsession by auto makers over the years in naming their cars after Native American tribes. To name a few: Dodge Dakota, Pontiac, Winnebago, and Jeep Cherokee. At first glance this association does not seem to have much to do with the nature theme I have been exploring here. Indeed, these brands often play into other American Indian stereotypes dealing with the powerful savage, but upon closer look we can discern a subtle association with the appeal of nature once again. Many of the vehicles claim to be able to take you to places that ordinary cars cannot take you; through the "miracle" of off-roading - they can, in fact, get you back to nature. Through these vehicles you can journey to become one with the natural world around you... This can especially be seen in the product photo for the 2011 Jeep Cherokee above (left side) as the vehicle sits surrounded by tall trees and lush forest. The following Jeep Cherokee commercial is also a very good example of this: Fording. (Available on YouTube.)

In this video, the Jeep Cherokee brings us back to nature - away from the highways and freeways of modern life (the highways and freeways that, according to The Crying Indian commercial, are destroying nature and the pure environment that is the habitat of the Native American). In using the American Indian name of "Cherokee" the message is that we can be brought back to nature and a simpler way of life through an association with Native Americans.

Grey Owl Wild Rice

Grey Owl Wild Rice goes a step further than many of the products I have examined thus far. The company named its product after an actual Native American man. According to their Web site,

"Grey Owl, one of the most important Canadian writers and famous naturalist, created a worldwide legend around his message of protecting the wild life and forests of the northern wilderness. He spoke to large gatherings in his adopted land and before the King and Queen of England in the early 1930's. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan created a special area for Grey Owl to live and built a cabin, which still stands today, for nature lovers to read about and visit as they seek more information about the Legend of Grey Owl."

The association with nature is easily seen in the above excerpt from the Web site. The message given to consumers is that by eating Grey Owl rice you are honoring nature and the ways of Grey Owl the person - making you noble by association.

Reference

Who was Grey Owl? Retrieved November 27, 2011 from http://www.greyowlwildrice.com/whowas.shtml.

Umpqua Dairy

I have to admit that having lived in Oregon at one time, I love Umpqua ice cream...but what exactly does ice cream have to do with Native Americans? Why does the Umpqua Dairy logo have the head of an American Indian in full headdress?

Again, the answer to this question seems to go back to the association between Native Americans and nature and, thus, naturalness. Umpqua wants to convey a message about the purity and naturalness of its products. They do this by perpetuating the stereotype that Native Americans represent this state of nature and purity. It plays upon the noble savage stereotype that has been passed down through our culture, in the form of novels, movies, television, and conversations. This stereotype will not leave us as long as products and companies exploit the association for the selling of goods.

Sue Bee Honey

Sue Bee Honey was originally called Sioux Bee Honey - as in the Sioux tribe. The company claims the name was changed to reflect the correct pronunciation of the name, but one wonders if this explanation is simply a public relations statement to cover for the embarrassment of co-opting the name of a Native American tribe in their product and company name. Any embarrassment that may have played a part in this move did not, however, extend to the use of Native American imagery in their branding.

The Sue Bee Honey logo has a young Native American girl as their visual reference. What cannot be seen on labels any longer is the fact that the girl is only half human. The bottom half is that of a bee. It would be hard to find a clearer connection being drawn between Native Americans and wild animals or nature than in this classic form of the logo. The Native American is represented as not fully human. Without that humanity discrimination against American Indians is easier to justify.

Arrowhead Bottled Water

Let's take a look at the bottled water that I mentioned in my first blog post - Arrowhead. Like many bottled water companies, Arrowhead places great emphasis on its product being pure and coming directly from nature. In Arrowhead's case the water is said to come from "high on the south slope of California's San Bernardino Mountains." The company Web site proclaims that, "According to Native American legend, an arrow shape was burned into the mountain to show tribes where they could be healed" (The History of Arrowhead).

Once again we see Native Americans being equated to nature. Though no Native American images are used in the marketing of the Arrowhead brand, a connection is still made through the use of the term "arrowhead," which is associated with Native American tribes and tribal artifacts. This essence of nature and, with it, purity, is the primary concept used to sell this product to American consumers. (This natural and pure product even has the potential to mystically heal you!)

References

The History of Arrowhead. Retrieved November 26, 2011 from http://www.arrowheadwater.com/#/assured/history_and_heritage.

Land O' Lakes

Perhaps one of the best known current brands to use Native American imagery in their branding is Land O' Lakes, makers of butter and other cream products. The company name is a tribute to Minnesota, where the company was founded, and its many sparkling lakes. Their logo shows a Native American woman, holding butter and sitting in front of one of the aforementioned lakes in a beautiful natural setting. Merskin (2001) states that this logo was intended as "symbolism of the purity of the products." She goes on the explicate further that the woman is "associated with innocence, nature, and purity" (p. 161).

Once again we see nature and naturalness being marketed as something of great value, and a Native American figure is used to further this idea. The Native American woman is portrayed as simple and natural. Modern life does not touch her.

Reference
Merskin, D. (2001). Winnebagos, Cherokees, Apaches and Dakotas: The persistence of stereotyping of American Indians in American advertising brands. Howard Journal of Communications, 12: 159-169.

Hamms Beer

Hamms Beer was bought out by Miller/Coors Beer in 1999. Prior to this time, the advertising for Hamms Beer, brewed in Saint Paul, Minnesota since the 1860s, was iconic. The jingle, "From the land of sky blue waters..." was well known throughout America. This jingle was driven by an incessant beat - a beat that immediately brought to mind images of Native Americans with its use of tom-tom drums.

Everything about the Hamms Beer commercials, especially during the products height of popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, encompassed nature as a theme. The television commercials focused on the woodsy outdoors and used as it "spokesanimal" a bear, who was often seen with various woodland friends. The use of Native American drums played right into this emphasis on nature, as, once again, we see ideas regarding what it means to be a Native American tied to ideas of nature.

Although this connection can be seen in all the commercials for Hamms Beer, there is one commercial in particular that I wish to look at from the 1950s titled Hamms Beer Bear Rain Dance. (Again, found on YouTube.) In this commercial we are introduced to a cartoon Native American man who performs a rain dance. He seemingly has a powerful connection to nature at his fingertips, which he employs to comic effect - making it rain only on the Hamms Beer bear. Much as we see again 20 years later in The Crying Indian commercial, Native Americans are used to signify nature, taking away their humanity.

The Crying Indian

One of the most well-known appearances by a Native American in a television commercial comes from 1971 and the Keep America Clean campaign (which ironically is not an environmental group, but a trade group for beer and soda makers who use cans as packaging). The spot is titled The Crying Indian. No discussion of Native American imagery in advertising or branding is complete without a look at this commercial. It is often credited with inspiring America's environmental movement (Strand, 2008). Let's take a look at the commercial before we continue: The Crying Indian. (Available on YouTube.)

In this commercial we see the ultimate conflation of Native Americans with nature and the environment. The Native American individual (who in reality is not even Native American, but Italian American - a whole other topic!) is seen to represent nature itself. He weeps for the way that people are destroying the earth with pollution and littering. As the single tear runs down his face, the voice over declares that, "People start pollution. People can stop it." However, the commercial has just positioned the Native American as one with nature; he is an inanimate object. The message is clearly that Native Americans are not actual people and, thus, they cannot stop pollution; it is left up to the "real people" to deal with pollution and save nature. In this way, stereotypes that perpetuate views of Native Americans as less than truly human, and, thus, inferior are perpetuated.

Reference
Strand, G. (2008, November). The crying Indian. The Onion.